Their Last Night
by penspend
Summary: The night before Harry leaves Hogwarts for the summer in HBP, he must confront Ginny about his feelings for the final time. Starts right after funeral. ONESHOT.


The night was clear and crisp. Dew drops lay undisturbed on the lawn while the moon's alabaster light gleamed as if a giant spotlight had been hung over the earth. The great shadow that was Hogwarts loomed menacingly over Hagrid's cabin and the pumpkin patch.

On this particular night, two figures stood on the lawn. The first seemed to be admiring the moon, a long skein of red hair falling nearly to her waist. The other appeared to be taking a walk, slightly taller than the first with hair that stuck up in the back.

_Or is it even considered a walk?_ he mused, almost pacing on the moonlit lawn. The dew, now disturbed, clung to the bottom of his robes. His mind, no matter what he told it to do, kept playing over the day's events such as a song would play on repeat. He tried to busy himself with mindless questions, but to no avail.

His eyes darted upward and caught a glance of the other figure, freezing him in midstep. Had she planned to be here, to taunt him furthur? He told himself no, that she would never do that to him. Just another thing he would miss about her, her kindness…

He knew that he would have to confront her sooner or later; even after what had been said at the funeral could not possibly cover what he was feeling, what he needed to do. And somewhere deep in his mind, he came to the conclusion that he needed this one last chance to say goodbye, no matter how hard it would be for both of them.

He took the slow walk towards her, being reminded that with each step, that _he_ was the problem in her life.

He could have stopped right then, turned, and made it back to the castle without her noticing his presence. This wasn't what she needed right then, but if he died in the struggle and before that, knowing that he had never told her how he felt about her, even in death he would probably kill himself. She had to know.

She saw his shadow, stretched five or six times his normal height due to the moon's position in the sky, before he reached her. She turned around to face him, and her face caught the moonlight perfectly right then, outlining every single thing about her that was beautiful.

A lump caught in his throat, not permitting him to say anything for a few moments. By then, she had turned around again, and he thought he heard a suppressed sob escape from her throat.

"I know I can't help," he said, keeping his voice steady. Not the most perfect of lines he could have used, but nontheless effective. She now knew that he was not coming to accept her into his life again, but that he at least cared enough to make one final remark.

He took a deep breath and walked closer. She did not move from her last position.

"Ginny." He said her name in her ear, almost at a whisper, and it was this that she loved about him, the way he could say her name and make her shiver, among other subtle things that meant the world to her.

A single tear escaped from the resovoir behind her eyes that was threatening to explode at any second. She would miss this.

"I love you."

He said it tenderly, almost caressing the words itself. She was afraid that if she said anything back, the fine line connecting her from not crying would snap. She desperately hoped he wouldn't understand that she didn't return the feeling.

Taking a deep rattling breath, she turned towards him. His face was etched in shadow, though his emerald eyes glittered in the darkness. He was so perfect.

He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes hungrily taking in each freckle, each eyelash. Something to remember her by, to think of when he missed her more than anything, something to look forward to with each step he took on his journey.

Her mouth opened to speak, but a sob came out instead. Her bottom lip trembled, but it was now or never, she told herself.

"I love you, too."

This broke the resovoire, and she cried into his shoulder, his arms embracing her tight, sholding her close. His hand closest to her hair fingered it softly, soon massaging her scalp with warm fingers.

Her sobs reduced to tears that ran blindly down her face, then gradually to short intakes of breath. Finally, she shuddered, sighed, and stood there, breathing in his scent, wishing it would last forever.

She collected herself and finally looked at him. He wasn't smiling, a look of concern on his face. She wiped her eyes.

"I'll miss you," she said finally, in a soft voice. "And I'll wait for you. Forever, if I have to."

"Don't worry, you won't," he whispered, his face suddenly full of warmth, and he kissed her.

Several minutes passed into the kiss, and he was silently fighting a very strong urge to do something he shouldn't have even thought of doing, while she was trying to cherish every second with the man she loved, drinking all of him in as an alchoholic might with the finest wine. They converted this moment to memory; something to look for when they just couldn't go on any longer.

Suddenly he broke away, gasping, afraid he might not be able to control himself for a moment longer. She watched him take a few deep breaths, standing far enough away so that her scent wouldn't tempt him furthur.

He had enough self-control to at least look deep into her chocolate eyes. He saw sadness, remorse, fear and… something else. Love. He understood her in that very moment.

"I'll be back," he said finally. "And I'll be thinking of what I'll come back to every minute."

She smiled. "I'll miss you more than you'll ever know."

They walked back to the castle, hands entwined.

* * *

If I were Ginny, it would be pretty hard to cope, too... anyway, hope you liked it. A bit hard for me to write (I highly doubt that Harry has thoughts as organized as these), but feel free to review! **Please** ignore the fact that she will see him again for Bill and Fleur's wedding, **please**! 

**TO ALL THAT PUT AN ALERT FOR THIS : **This is a oneshot. NOT a series. However, I _am_ working on another story that has all the stuff that happens after DH, probably very different from the other stories that portray that 19-year period. Keep watch for that story (the first chapter will be up pretty soon, like mid-September I guess), it will be titled shortly!


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